TH
The Verge
4/14/2026

Has Google's AI watermarking system been reverse-engineered?
TL;DR
A developer claims to have reverse-engineered Google DeepMind's SynthID watermarking system, showing AI-generated watermarks can be removed using signal processing and 200 Gemini images without proprietary access. Google disputes the claim's validity, but the open-sourced code invites verification and raises serious questions about watermarking as a reliable AI governance tool.
- •Developer claims successful reverse-engineering of SynthID watermarking system
- •Method uses basic signal processing + Gemini images; requires no proprietary access
- •Open-sourced code invites verification and scrutiny of watermarking robustness
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